


Taken Away

by digthewriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Matchmaking, Matchmaking Friends, Muggle world, Nervous, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 09:10:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16082990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/pseuds/digthewriter
Summary: Written for prompt: Take Away. Neville is waiting for food when Charlie shows up.





	Taken Away

Neville was waiting by the window of his favourite Muggle takeaway spot, bouncing on his heels to make sure he didn't catch a cold. He could've placed a warming charm on himself, but as everyone else around him was doing the same, he figured assimilation was key. 

He needed to get back to work but he also knew if he didn't eat, Ginny was going to eat _him_ alive. 

"Fancy seeing you here." A voice came from a few feet away and he turned to look; almost forgetting to breath. 

"Char—Charlie—" He stumbled at the words, this time, glad the cold weather was there to show he wasn't nervous… just freezing. 

"In the flesh," the man said with a smirk and received a ticket from the lady at the window. When his turn would come, he'd be able to order. 

"I didn't know you knew of this place." 

"Of course, I do. Ginny swears by it. They have the best noodles in this part of the…you know…" _Muggle world_ was the word Charlie didn't say. 

"Of course, Ginny," Neville said, burying his face in his scarf. 

"One thirty nine…" the lady at the window shouted. 

"Ah, my turn to order already!" Charlie said, excited and placed his order. 

Hopefully, in a few minutes, they'd yell Neville's number, and he'd get his food and then find the closest Apparition point. 

"So, working late?" Charlie asked when they were standing quietly next to each other for a while. 

"Yes. I have a deadline for my research paper I must submit to the Herbology Journal and I want to make sure my findings are exact." 

"Of course, anything interesting?" Charlie asked and Neville shook his head. "Oh, come on, I'm sure it's got to be interesting since Ginny won't stop talking about it." 

"She's helped me with some potions but otherwise, it's routine, really. Nothing exciting. Nothing like dragons." 

"Ah," Charlie said. "There's nothing like dragons." 

Finally, the lady called his number and Neville paid for the food with Muggle money. He should've said his goodbyes to Charlie but decided it was rude to leave. "I'll wait with you," he found himself saying, "until your order is finished." 

"Are you sure? You don't have to," Charlie said with a huge smile which said he was glad Neville offered. 

"It's no problem. It's not that col—" then he shivered. 

"Here, you need to bundle up a bit more…" Charlie's hands reached Neville's collar and he pulled on Neville's coat. 

"Aw, you two are so sweet." Neville turned to look at a young woman standing close to them, smiling. 

"I…" Neville started to speak, unsure of what to say. 

"Thank you. He really would be lost without me." 

Neville looked at Charlie confused. "What?" he whispered. 

Charlie leaned in close and whispered in Neville's ear, "Just a bit of fun." 

"Right…" Neville said, now shivering for a totally different reason. He'd always had a small crush on Charlie and now that Charlie was teasing him like this, he didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to go along with it? 

"It's a joke, Nev," Charlie said, tapping Neville's nose and then winking. "Something for the Muggles. It's sweet how at least she's not super homophobic or anything." 

"I didn't know you were…" 

"What?" Charlie asked, sounding confused now. "Homophobic?" He snorted. 

"No. Homo…sexual." 

"Oh, yeah. Totally. Through and through. What about you? Sorry if I offended you. I thought you and my sister were only friends." 

"We're only friends." 

"So what's the matter? Are you afraid of gay people?" 

Neville shook his head. "Of course not." Then he decided to lighten up. "Just the cute ones." 

Charlie gave Neville a brilliant smile and before he could reply, Charlie's order number was called. 

"Now, can we get the fuck out of here and go somewhere warm?" 

Neville nodded in the affirmative. Even though he was supposed to return to his lab, he ended up Apparating with Charlie to the Burrow where Ginny waited for them. 

"Finally!" she said and then gave Neville a knowing smile. "So glad you could join us." She turned and called for Harry and Draco to come down so they could all eat together. 

"Why does this feel like a set up?" Neville asked to no one in particular. Charlie was the only one who seemed to hear him and much to Neville's surprise, his ears turned red. 

Now, Neville was definitely very confused. 

They all ate with chatter, talking above each other, and Neville had to admit he wasn't wasting his break eating alone in the Greenhouse. 

"I should go soon," Neville said, standing up and grabbing his plates. "This has been fun but I do need to return to my research." 

"Come on, Neville. You never hang out with us anymore," Harry said, but it was half-hearted as Draco was already curling up to his side on the sofa. 

"Maybe next time," said Neville. "I should—" 

"I'll walk you out," Charlie said, surprising Neville once again, and no one seemed to object. 

"So this was interesting…" Neville said softly once Charlie closed the door of the house behind him and was walking him to the Apparition spot. 

"Maybe we can do it again? Next time without an audience." 

"I…" Neville hesitated and he smiled when Charlie didn't seem annoyed or bothered by how flustered he was. That was definitely refreshing. "That'd be nice." 

"Just nice?" Charlie asked, taking a step closer to Neville. 

"Without the pretence of standing in the freezing cold waiting for Chinese takeaway, it'd be perfect," replied Neville. 

"I hope you know I really didn't realise it was going to be a set up. When Ginny insisted I go to the place, I'd said no, but she suggested I might run into you. I think she knows I've developed a sort of — interest in you." 

"An interest in me?" Neville asked, amused. 

"Yes," Charlie said and leaned down to kiss Neville. "More than."


End file.
